How about Zombies?

The world falls dark as the power plant is overrun. You hear a helicopter in the distance. Get to it first and get out of here! The only thing stopping you is a horde of zombies and your crazed, probably bitten friends. Can you survive?

Good morning everyone, this week on “What to Play Tonight?” on the “The Tech Deck” blog, we explore a zombie infested game aptly called ‘Zombies!!!’ by Twilight Creations. This is a vicious game that will have you and one to five of your friends battling it out with the hordes of undead and each other; more on that later.

Fred and I playing Zombies!!!

As the game begins players start in the center tile. At the start of your turn you place a city tile down. With each tile comes loot, zombies, and an ever growing city. Somewhere in this city is a helipad. The first person to reach the center square and have the helipad cleared of zombies wins. Alternatively the first to have 20 zombie trophies (kills) also wins. Throughout the city are basic street tiles and buildings. The multitude of expansions for this game provide additional locations such as an army base, mall, haunted forest, etc.

After you place your tile, you roll for the number of squares you can move and battle any zombies in your way. The zombie killing is fast. You expel bullets and hearts trying to roll a 5+ on 1d6 (one 6-sided die). Don’t rush too fast into combat, though. If you die, you lose any items you had and half your zombie trophies (remember first to 20 trophies, wins). Furthermore, zombies can also be a useful tool against your friends.

After you have finished your movement and picked up any tokens you earned, you get your zombie phase. Roll your 1d6 once more and you can move up to that many zombies 1 square, wherever you want. This means you can cut off an escape for another player or clear a path for yourself. Combat does not take place until the start of that player’s turn so it is possible another more merciful player will move the zombie away or pile more around them.

Unlike many zombie-themed games, such as Left 4 Dead by Valve, ‘Zombies!!!’ is not a cooperative game. Remember when I said zombies aren’t the only things to worry about? ‘Zombies!!!’ pits you against your friends in a rush for victory. Aiding you in this battle is your hand of 3 cards. You can play one card from the start of your turn until the start of your next turn. This means you can play a surprise card on your friend’s turn stopping their movement, discarding their item or spawning more zombies!

Some example cards

The game rewards quick thinking and improvisation, as a well thought out plan can be stopped dead by a tide of slowly moving zombies and a well-timed card from your “friend.”

On a personal note, I rather enjoy the artwork for the game. Props to the artists! For game play purposes, I find games are most fun with three to five players. Any more than that and the game starts to drag, even with taking turns quickly. Also, be wary of careless hands! A quick grab for snacks can level your city. Lastly, you will want to play on a large table, as your city can get rather large very quickly.

Overall I recommend this game for a group of friends. It’s very easy and quick to learn and there is a lot of fun to be had. At around $30 this is a great game for its cost.

EXPANSIONS:

Out of all the expansions to buy, get ‘Zombies!!!’ 3.5. It gives you more cards with cooler abilities. The cards work great with every expansion I have played and the original game seamlessly.